Editing Separation of church and state (section)

===United Kingdom===

{{See also|Disestablishmentarianism}}

The [[Church of England]], a part of the worldwide [[Anglican Communion]], is an [[established church]], and the [[British monarchy|British Sovereign]] is the titular [[Supreme Governor of the Church of England|supreme governor]] and cannot be a Roman Catholic. Until the [[Succession to the Crown Act 2013]], the monarch could not be married to a Catholic.

Around a third of [[State-funded schools (England)|state schools in England]] have a religious affiliation, with the vast majority being Christian. At faith schools, the worship must be in accordance with the religion or religious denomination of the school.<ref>[https://www.educationcompany.co.uk/knowledge-bank/uk-education-data/governance-affiliations/ Religious affiliation (faith schools)]. The Education Company</ref> In state run Christian schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (but not in privately run schools), there is a requirement for a daily act of worship that is "wholly or mainly of a Christian character", although in England, up to 76% of Christian affiliated faith schools do not comply with the law and the requirement is not enforced by [[Ofsted]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35161361|last=Wyatt|first=Caroline|website=BBC News Online|date=2015-12-23|access-date=2022-05-10|title=Does daily worship count for anything?|archive-date=2022-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511193054/https://www.bbc.com/news/education-35161361|url-status=live}}</ref> Non-Christian faith schools are exempt (instead having to have their own form of worship) and sixth-form pupils (in England and Wales) and parents of younger pupils can opt out. Official reports have recommended removing the requirement entirely.<ref name="guardian2015">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/dec/06/religious-teaching-school-assemblies-axe-report|last=Sherwood|first=Harriet|date=2015-12-06|access-date=2017-07-30|title=Top judge leads calls to scrap mandatory daily Christian worship in UK schools|newspaper=The Observer|archive-date=2017-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730065258/https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/dec/06/religious-teaching-school-assemblies-axe-report|url-status=live}}</ref> The High Court of the United Kingdom has ruled in favour of challenges, brought by pupil families supported by the [[British Humanist Association]], to secondary-level religious studies exam syllabuses that excluded non-religious worldviews.<ref name="guardian2015" />

In England, senior Church appointments are Crown appointments; the Church carries out state functions such as coronations; Anglican representatives have an automatic role on [[Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education|Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education]]; and 26 diocesan bishops have seats in the [[House of Lords]], where they are known as the [[Lords Spiritual]] as opposed to the [[laity|lay]] [[Lords Temporal]]. The Lords Spiritual have a significant influence when they vote as a bloc on certain issues, notably moral issues like abortion and [[euthanasia]]. The Anglican Church also has specific legal rights and responsibilities in solemnised marriages that are different from other faith organisations. Non-religious couples can have a [[civil wedding]] with no religious elements, but non-religious [[humanist celebrant|humanist weddings]] are not yet legally recognised in their own right. Collective worship makes prayer and worship of a Christian character mandatory in all schools, but parents can remove their children from these lessons, and sixth formers have the right to opt out.{{Citation needed|reason=Source needed for whole sentence|date=November 2019}}

The [[Church of Scotland]] (or Kirk) is the largest religious denomination in Scotland; however, unlike the Church of England it is [[Presbyterian]] and (since 1921) not a branch of the state, with the Sovereign holding no formal role in the Church other than being an ordinary member. However, though the Kirk is disestablished, Scotland is not a secular polity. The Kirk remains a [[national church]] to which the state has special obligations; it is conventional that the monarch, who is head of state, must attend the Church when he visits Scotland, and they swear in their accession oath to maintain and preserve the church. The state also gives numerous preferences to the Church of Scotland and Catholic Church, particularly in education. The [[Blasphemy law in the United Kingdom|blasphemy law]], though it had fallen into disuse, was not abolished until 2024. Non-religious couples can have a [[civil wedding]] with no religious elements, and [[humanist celebrant|humanist weddings]] have been legally recognised since 2005 and enshrined in Scottish law since 2017.

The [[Church in Wales]] was disestablished in 1920 (although certain border parishes remain part of the Established Church of England).<ref name=Enyedi2003>{{cite book|last1=Madeley|first1=John T. S.|last2=Enyedi|first2=Zsolt|title=Church and state in contemporary Europe: the chimera of neutrality|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n5Brda6FmswC|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0714653945|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=n5Brda6FmswC&pg=PA203 203]|access-date=2015-08-15|archive-date=2015-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919035809/https://books.google.com/books?id=n5Brda6FmswC|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike the UK Government and to some extent the Scottish Government, the [[Welsh Government]] has no religious links, though state-funded religious schools are routinely approved in Wales.

The [[Church of Ireland]] was disestablished as early as 1871. Publicly funded Schools in Northern Ireland are either State or Catholic maintained schools. State schools can be classed as: Controlled (by the Education Authority), Voluntary Grammar, Integrated and Special Schools. Irish-Medium Schools are operated by both the State and the Catholic Church. Despite the common notion of 'Protestant' and 'Catholic' Schools among many citizens, all State schools accept all religions without bias, with the exception of Integrated schools which require a set ratio of 40:40:20 Protestant, Catholic and Other (Mixed or non-Christian Religious).{{Citation needed|reason=Source needed for whole sentence|date=November 2019}} An identification with the "Protestant" or "Roman Catholic" community is sought on equal opportunities-monitoring forms regardless of actual personal religious beliefs; as the primary purpose is to monitor cultural discrimination by employers. Atheists should select which community they come from; however, participation is not compulsory. Religious Education is compulsory for all children up to the age of 16, with the four major Church denominational bodies (The Catholic Church, The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, The Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church) agreeing on the content of the syllabus, focussing on Christianity and Secular Ethics. World Religions have to be introduced between the ages of 11 and 14.